Welcome to my blog for reviewing the best Mexican restaurants and food in Orange County, CA. I intend to cover as many as I can . . . and all sorts and price ranges: "From taco trucks to fine dining . . . and everything inbetween." Newer entries tend to focus on photos more than words. Number of restaurants covered so far: 268+. See The List

If you're wondering what Mexican restaurant is the oldest one in Orange County then wonder no longer because Sariñana's is it. Established in 1939 (OC Weekly says 1936) Sariñana's has remained the humble yet sincere place it started out as. When you're here you really are at home because Sariñana's was built into an old house on a sleepy stretch of 5th Avenue in Santa Ana. Of course they are famous for their tamales and you can't go wrong with theirs but what they might be even more well known for is their hard shell crispy tacos. These are made the way my dad made them when I was growing up, by deep-frying a corn tortilla, folding it in half and stuffing it with ground beef, lettuce, cheese and tomatoes. The result perks you up and fills you up and reminds you what a non-mass produced taco can be. Sariñana's also serves soup, burritos, enchiladas, tortas, quesadillas, sopes, tostadas and Mexican breakfast items and has a quick service grocery store next door to the restaurant.

For trooping on so long and remaining 100% true to their roots Sarinana's Tamales Factory earns a 5 Speedy Gonzales rating:

Thursday, May 24, 2012

The good folks at Cholula Hot Sauce recently sent me a caddy of their four different kinds of hot sauce: Original, Chili Lime, Chili Garlic and Chipotle. Check out their Facebook page and give it a like and check out their Recipe section too, many of which should be good for Memorial Day Weekend barbecuing. They even let you submit your own recipe.

Last night I heated up this Mexican-style pizza from Trader Joe's and sliced it into four pieces and each slice got a different Cholula sauce on it. For this pizaa the two best Cholula flavors were Chili Lime and Chipotle.